My hood struts are installed!

[COramprat]

There is one important prerequisite to a successful installation not mentioned in the Redline instuctions. Several who post to this Board have reported hoods. like mine, that have to be dropped 30" to close. This won't work with the struts installed, so the hood striker bracket has to be shimmed first so the hood can be closed easily, like most other cars. I used two plastic (no rust) shims cut from a VCR tape storage box, then painted the body color. Now I can lower the hood gently and latch it securely with just a slight push.

More info...How and where did you put the shims? Some detals, man.

 

[YLW99VERT]

Cars looking Great Steve!! Congrats...thats a great improvement over the stock look.
BTW....Right now they are offering 10 dollars off
Rich

 

[n0v8or]

"More info...How and where did you put the shims? Some detals, man."

Remove the black plastic cover mounted above the radiator just rearward of the grille. Remove the hood latch bracket (4 bolts, plus one that retains a stay at the bottom of the readiator). Shim between the bracket and the top of the radiator support. Replace all bolts and fasteners.

 

[n0v8or]

Image with the plastic cover removed. This was a trial fit before the shims were painted, so some of the original black color appears under the bracket. Total shim thickness in my case was between 3/32" and 1/8".

 

[98yellowgtdropt]

do you have a pic with hood closed?
i have the same hood but its not painted yet
its also a 99 yellow gt

 

[decoy562]

Honestly I dont see how the hood could warp. The struts merely just give the hood something to lean on. The only stress on the outside of teh hood comes from the raising/lowering of the hood. And it moves very freely. It's not like I'm forcing it down or up. It moves on it's own almost.

There are many other vehicles out there with factory hood struts of the same type. They don't see warpage so I think this is a big myth.

But again, I don't have physical proof, but the physics just aren't there to put that kind of strain on the hood.

I have those struts from the factory on my 93 T-bird, it sure as heck doesn't warp the hood.

 

[Teen'93stang5.0]

nice lookin engine bay

 

[stylin99]

do you have a pic with hood closed?
i have the same hood but its not painted yet
its also a 99 yellow gt

98yellowgtdropt - Check out my webpage with the photos of the car. You'll find what you need here:
www.yellowmustangregistry.com/Brightmare.html

If you haven't already, don't forget to register that yellow 99 on the Yellow Mustang Registry.


Everybody else, thanks for the compliments. I've discovered that sometimes the best mods aren't big bucks.

 

[98yellowgtdropt]

thanks bro

 

[351CJ]

Nice

In Mustang production quantities (140,000 / year) & Ford's purchasing power, using struts and deleting the prop wouldn't cost more than $20 a car. Damn bean counters.

 

[65Coupes4ever]

Honestly I dont see how the hood could warp. The struts merely just give the hood something to lean on. The only stress on the outside of teh hood comes from the raising/lowering of the hood. And it moves very freely. It's not like I'm forcing it down or up. It moves on it's own almost.

There are many other vehicles out there with factory hood struts of the same type. They don't see warpage so I think this is a big myth.

But again, I don't have physical proof, but the physics just aren't there to put that kind of strain on the hood.

I hear you and was thinking along the same line, but read the thread about the warp problem. I need to research it further.

It may have something to do with the hole in the hood of our Mach 1s and adjusting them so that the fit around the shaker is right. I want them because I hate the prop.

From the picture, it appears they are riveted to the hood. Is that true?

 

[n0v8or]

My brackets are fastened to the hood with pop rivets included in the kit. It required a lot of force to install them, but they are really secure. The fiberglass channel section is too thin for a tapped hole to be strong enough, and there is no access to the inside of the channel with the stock hood, so a blind fastener must be used.

If you don't like the permanency of a riveted installation, you could drill an access hole nearby in the channel section (perhaps 3/4" diameter), then use conventional nuts and screws. The access hole would not significantly weaken the hood, and could even be filled with a plastic plug for cosmetic reasons.

Self-tapping sheet metal screws are used to retain the lower bracket to the chassis.

 

[stylin99]

From the picture, it appears they are riveted to the hood. Is that true?

Yes, they're rivoted. I had to buy a rivot gun ($9) but Redline includes the rivots for the installation.

The rivots make it look more professional. And if it needs to come out, you can always carefully drill it out.

 

[COramprat]

Image with the plastic cover removed. This was a trial fit before the shims were painted, so some of the original black color appears under the bracket. Total shim thickness in my case was between 3/32" and 1/8".

Thanks for the info...looks like my next mod has been found...

 

[jadesville]

My brackets are fastened to the hood with pop rivets included in the kit. It required a lot of force to install them, but they are really secure. The fiberglass channel section is too thin for a tapped hole to be strong enough, and there is no access to the inside of the channel with the stock hood, so a blind fastener must be used.

If you don't like the permanency of a riveted installation, you could drill an access hole nearby in the channel section (perhaps 3/4" diameter), then use conventional nuts and screws. The access hole would not significantly weaken the hood, and could even be filled with a plastic plug for cosmetic reasons.

Self-tapping sheet metal screws are used to retain the lower bracket to the chassis.

thanks

 

[GOLDENPONY]

Hood lifts

I just ordered the kit from Redline-cant wait to install. Looks like a great mod. Redline is currently offering a $10 discount on this kit for Christmas if anybody is interested.

 

[chevylover]

I just finished putting mine on and I must say that it's very enjoyable not having to us the prop rod. When closing the hood, about 10-12" from latching, the rods pretty much release the hood and I can drop it closed just as before. The rivits are the hardest thing to do since they are so thick and you need a real grip to snap them off. Couldn't be happier with install and wish all aftermarket installs were as simple.